The present invention relates to a chained terminal wherein plural connection terminals are formed at a predetermined interval on a feed plate, and a crimping method using the same.
Heretofore, as means for sequentially crimping respective connection terminals to a number of electric wires by using a terminal crimping machine, a chained terminal wherein connection terminals are formed at a predetermined interval on one side of a feed plate is used, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei. 6-275363 and No. Hei. 7-45321.
In the above chained terminal, connection terminals in each of which an electric contact part and an electric wire connecting part are bent to be formed, are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval on one side of a feed plate by punching and pressing terminal metal material, which has been obtained by punching a metallic thin plate in a developed state, by the progressive working of a press and the like.
Plural electric wires are sequentially crimped and fixed to each connection terminal by feeding the feed plate of the above chained terminal by a predetermined pitch, that is, by a pitch between adjacent terminals by a terminal feed mechanism, sequentially locking an electric wire in the electric wire connecting part of the connection terminal by the terminal crimping machine, and cutting a predetermined location of a part connected to the feed plate.
That is, plural electric wires can be sequentially crimped and fixed to the respective connection terminals at high speed by using the chained terminal so that mass production is enabled.
However, in a conventional type chained terminal, since a feed plate is wasted after an electric wire is crimped and fixed to each connection terminal and the connection terminal is cut, much unnecessary material is used and the method is not efficient.
Also, since an electric wire is crimped and fixed to each connection terminal, while feeding the feed plate by a predetermined pitch forward by the terminal crimping machine by using the above chained terminal, the feed rate of a terminal feed mechanism is required to be speeded up to operate the terminal crimping machine at high speed to enhance productive efficiency.
However, the feed pitch of the above terminal feed mechanism is determined by a pitch between adjacent terminals and the pitch cannot be reduced according to the speedup of the feed rate. When the feed rate of the terminal feed mechanism is speeded up, a feed by the terminal feed mechanism driven via many followers is imprecise, so that a problem that the connection terminal is not crimped to an electric wire and an electric wire is damaged is caused.